*image found on google.com
I've reached a point in my life where I am not particularly interested in looking backwards. I've learned that I can't change what has happened, although I can certainly learn from what has happened and carry that forward with me. I do use my rearview mirror when I drive so that I'm aware of what is coming up behind me, and yet I drive facing forward so that I can see where I am going. As I hope everyone does!! The point I'm making is that we don't travel very far or very well if we are only looking in the rear view mirror.
As each decade I have lived has passed, I used to think of it as "these 10 years" and not as "10 of 20 or 30", a group of numbers that continue. For some reason it seems we lump our lives into these decades...our twenties, our thirties, forties and so on. I've made a conscious effort to stop doing that. Which I know happened to me during this most recent decade. I want to think of all the years as a continuous flow, one just blending into another. I've never been hugely interested in New Year's Eve and all the hoopla about ringing out the old and bringing in the new. Makes me realize I've probably always felt this way about numbers of years just continuing without the demarcation of 10, 20, 30. If I had to highlight one aspect of this particular "decade" as being profound for me, it would be that of having had my eyes opened so that I was truly seeing and not just "looking" at life.
How much real change is there in the world? There is change in technology and advancement in how we live our lives, but is there any real change in people and events? It is people who need to change. How we think, what we believe in, how we live our lives with morals, values and ideals. I don't see a lot of that changing as we put an "x" through another decade. However, I do live with the hope that it will one day happen.
I'm not one for summarizing events..I could do it but wouldn't do it well. If you would like an interesting read about the first decade of this century, please read this post at "Awareness". Dana has written a most incredible essay that is well worth reading.
15 comments:
Well said sweetie.
You only need the past to learn from.
I don't care much for celebrating the New Year either....but somehow I always end up doing something.
I can't believe how quickly a decade has come and gone! It seems like only yesterday we were worried about y2k. What a load of....!:)
Hugs,
Charlie
The funniest thing about growing older, to me, is how easy it is to forget how much time has passed.
At times I feel 18; other times, I know just how the screaming toddler on the plane feels and wish I could be so honest about my aching ears. I get up to the creaks and pops of my knees, just like my grandmother; go to sleep curled up with a book just as when I was 10. It all starts to blend together on its own at some point, it seems.
But always always I need a reminder to keep my eye on the road ahead, my friend. So thank you for that.
Have a wonderful year, day by day.
jb
Well written! I'm not one for looking back on pain. I know that I have learned everything I needed to learn from it, and I leave that in the past, but never forget. I LOVE looking back on progress. And Joyful times. The older I get, the more selective my memory becomes...life looks pretty rosy from this side of crazy.
I LOVE your new look!!! Did you do it yourself, and if so, HOW? Please and thank you very much ♥ Deb
Incredible post!!!! You are right, you won't get very far if you only look through the rear view mirror (plus you'll probably crash and burn...as happens when you live in the past). I love how you say you can lean from what happened and carry that forward. Brilliant!
Another interesting and wise post, Sherry. It's true that our lives don't fall neatly into decades or other artificial boxes. I agree that we should focus on the flow and look ahead. I do like to revisit happy memories....our family photo albums are such a fun way to remember those special times.
Your blog redesign is great! Happy New Year!
Well done. I don't believe in looking backward. I used to look back a great deal and then I started taking my Buddhist research seriously and try very hard to stay in the moment. Yes, we can learn from our *mistakes* but we should never dwell there. Easier said than done. I'm into simplifying. YeeeeeHaaaaaw!!!
there are days i feel 5... there are days i feel 105... there are days in between... some days thoughts and memories of the past creep into my awareness... sometimes they are useful, sometimes they are joyful... sometimes they merely serve to re-open wounds and regret... sometimes thoughts of the future look back on me and visit too... sometimes they are hopeful and beautiful and full of dreams and possibilities, sometimes they are frightening...
but really, these are all just thoughts, as emotions... they visit in a moment... perhaps they stay for a cup of tea or two and then they are gone...
every single moment is a new moment, fresh and full and waiting for birth... maybe New Year's is merely a symbol of that freshness in every moment... and if we ought to celebrate anything, perhaps it is that...
sending you lots of love and hugs :)
I usually miss the dawning of the new year since it comes in way past my bedtime. It makes it easy to overlook the marking off of years and to just take life as it comes. I do find myself, however, looking in the rear view mirror far too often and then looking up in front of me far too late. In 2010 I hope to look forward more. Thanks for this.
Dana’s Awareness post is excellent - and somewhat frightening. But there were also so many good things that took place during the past decade.
Focus on the good, learn from the bad and hope for change.
Better yet, be part of the change.
And remember that although “Objects in (rearview) mirror are closer than they appear” those objects needn’t overwhelm us.
You are so wise, Beautiful Sherry. I love how you put what I am feeling and thinking as well into such eloquent words.
I am actually feeling quiet right now - getting things ready for my friends who are coming down tomorrow to ring in the new year with some games, some cheer and some good company. I don't feel like doing the "big" thinking, analyzing, projecting, promising, resloving - it is just not time for me. I am not looking back but not quite ready for moving forward either - rather, just being in this moment and enjoying it the most I can.
Missing my friends though so I know I will be back in Blogland blabbing before I know it !
I hope your holiday time stays sweet and cozy and moving forward at a good Sherry pace.
Love you !
Oh you are so right. I have enoyed reading your post and the awereness.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Bless you and a huge hug!
Julie
Our family has always celebrated on New Year's Eve to welcome in the New Year...I think it comes from my Mum's Scottish roots mainly. However, for the past decade, it just hasn't had the same feel or excitement for me. Mind you, I still like to look at it as a marker for new opportunities and beginnings...for taking the next step forward with a belief that anything is possible. After reading Eckhart Tolle's and Abraham-Hicks books, I'm very conscious now of living in and appreciating each moment and I do believe it has been a great help to my perspective in general.
Living in the moment, a challenge and yet worth every effort. It makes me feel very much alive to consciously be in the moment. Naturally, there is a time for paying the bills, or assessing our past to plan our paths ahead. Happy New Year, Sherry. May you live joyfully in the midst of awareness this year and all the rest.
so much of these words you place here, are exactly one reason why i love ya!
xo
Very interesting mood to your post, Sherry. I'll have to re-read it a few times I think. I'm in a space where I'm looking at things through my own mood-tinted glasses, and my perception can be a bit skewed!
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